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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065034">Love on the Waves</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/prpetualsunrise/pseuds/prpetualsunrise'>prpetualsunrise</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ocean's 8 (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>????? maybe, AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Debbie is a lil shit and Lou deserves better sometimes, F/F, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, I don't shit on her but like..., I promise, I really hate Claude, Pre-Canon Divergent, THE heist doesn't happen but A heist happens, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Time Travelling Lesbians, and then, but he's mentioned, he doesn't show up, she's a lil unsavoury here, these tags are getting kinda crazy, this is not SUPER Debbie friendly, unforunately he is integral to my plot here, yee babeeyyyy lets goooo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:48:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,365</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/prpetualsunrise/pseuds/prpetualsunrise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lou and Debbie are time traveling thieves. They're happy, successful, and in love. Then Lou finds out about Claude.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Claude Becker/Debbie Ocean, Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love on the Waves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> Whoosh! </em> </p>
<p>Two figures landed in a darkened hall, their heeled boots clicking softly on the white marble and their long trench coats swinging in wide circles as they took in their surroundings. One of the visitors -- a woman whose dark brown hair flowed like melted chocolate down her shoulders and back -- checked her watch and smiled at her companion.</p>
<p>“Perfect. Constantinople, summer of 1282. We’re getting good at this,” the first woman reported.</p>
<p>“Well then, let’s hurry up then and do the job. We don’t want a repeat of the Salem, 1692 incident,” a gravelly second voice replied, while its owner reached behind her to take her partner’s hand and drag her behind a pillar. </p>
<p>“I’ll see you in a few minutes then. Remember, stick to the plan. We want to create minimal alterations to the time tides,” the first figure replied. She tugged on the hand holding hers, until its owner was close enough for her to place a chaste kiss on her lips. She looked into the baby blue eyes of her partner and smiled.</p>
<p>
  <em> Whoosh! </em>
</p>
<p>In 2016, the ladies landed back in their New York City apartment, with enough historically insignificant jewelry from the Byzantine Empire to make their lives six millions dollars more “comfortable”.</p>
<p>“We pulled it off without a hitch! It went perfectly! Nothing went wrong. Lou, this is revolutionary! We’ve invented and proved the success of an entirely different approach to robbery. We’re going to be legends!” The dark-haired one exclaimed to her partner. Her eyes twinkled and her cheeks flushed as she grinned up at her best friend.</p>
<p>Lou smiled as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend’s waist, pulling her flush against herself.</p>
<p>“We -- Debbie, my dearest -- are going to be very, very rich legends,” Lou grinned and played along as Debbie dipped her in celebration. </p>
<p>Lou came back up and smiled as she kissed Debbie on the lips.</p>
<p>“Alright Lou! I’m going to draw you a bath -- because you are magnificent and you deserve it -- and then I’m going to pop out real quick and get some groceries for your classic victory dinner!” Debbie pecked her chastely again and then hurried into their bathroom to ready Lou’s bubbles and bath salts.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Lou, I’m home! I picked up some tomatoes, bread, garlic, and hot sauce from the grocery store. I also went to the bodega and picked up some cheezies and your favourite gummies!” Debbie tossed her keys in the basket as she walked into her apartment.</p>
<p>“Lou? Honey, where are you?” Debbie called out again as there continued to be no answering holler from her girlfriend.</p>
<p>Debbie’s eyebrows knit together as she set her brown paper bags on the kitchen counter. She trailed through the apartment, peering into rooms and around corners as she went. She found Lou sitting on the twisted sheets on their bed, like an ethereal goddess atop her fortress of frozen tsunamis.</p>
<p>As she walked into their bedroom, she felt a small round object underneath her foot. An eraser. Her eyes jumped from the eraser to a pencil, then a pen, some whiteout, a roll of tape. She followed the trail of stationary until her eyes landed on her meticulously organized plans. She had 23 drafts she had been working on, all carefully annotated and organized by importance, preparation, and duration. Someone had slathered the kaleidoscope of her brilliance and potential across the hardwood floor, reducing it to nothing but explosions of white and gray chaos. </p>
<p>“What the FUCK?! Lou. What happened?!” Debbie turned to Lou, who was sitting frozen on their bed, like a compressed spring.</p>
<p>“How long have you been seeing Claude Becker?” Lou’s voice was controlled and calm, but Debbie knew better. Debbie knew that under the composure was a brewing storm, ready to explode and drench their lives in fury and hurt.</p>
<p>“What?” asked Debbie, stunned.</p>
<p>“Claude Becker called to say that he misses you and that he’ll make your favourite pasta if you go over tonight.” Lou’s words were sharp and precise, cutting through the room.</p>
<p>“I can explain Lou -”</p>
<p>“You’d better explain, because it looks like you’ve been cheating on me. It looks like you’ve been cheating on me with a man,” Lou's voice was starting to crack. Her porcelain facade was breaking. Fissures of pain and betrayal were running across her face, as a single tear appeared in her eye. It sat balanced on a precipice and ready to fall — ready to bring an onslaught of its brothers and sisters with it.</p>
<p>“Lou, Lou wait. Listen, I made a mistake and I’ve been trying to fix it before it could hurt you,” Debbie pleaded.</p>
<p>“Well, you’ve done an excellent job of that, haven’t you?” Lou scoffed, voice dripping with venom and heartbreak.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Lou! I really am. I just got frustrated when -- before we discovered the watch -- we weren’t pulling any spectacular, instant profit jobs. I got frustrated and you suggested that we start looking at leading more legal lives and I just couldn’t stand the complete utter failure that was staring in my face. I hit a low and I met Claude. It was a mistake I’ve been trying to fix since then,” Debbie explained. She knew it wouldn’t be enough, but she still hoped that Lou wouldn’t ask anymore questions. </p>
<p>“If you haven’t seen him since that night then why is he asking you to go over? How does he know your favourite pasta?” Lou saw the hole in Debbie’s defence and attacked. She grabbed onto the weaknesses and held on. She pulled until Debbie’s entire story unraveled down to the last stitch, and the truth was revealed.</p>
<p>“I’ve been trying to fix it, Lou. I’ve been trying to end it. He’s just so convincing and charming; and I’m weak and I got tired of saying no. I gave in once and it just kept happening and happening. I’m so sorry, baby,” Debbie confessed. If she had thought the truth would liberate her, she was wrong. She watched as Lou’s eyes flooded with tears. She watched as the love of her life bit her lip to keep those tears from falling. Her heart ached with Lou’s and her gut grew heavier and heavier with guilt. She had never meant to hurt her, but as soon as she started talking, it was like a dam had been broken and all she’d done was drown Lou in hurt.</p>
<p>“He’s charming and convincing?! Like I’m not? He’s handsome and irresistible? While I’m nothing but a dried up conquest?” Lou hurled Debbie’s own words back at her, while a whine of hurt quietly seeped into her words.</p>
<p>“No! Lou, no! You were never a dried up conquest and you’re a thousand times better than Claude-” Debbie desperately tried to take back her words, but she had already put her foot in her mouth.</p>
<p>“You’re making it worse. You’re sleeping on the couch tonight. I don't want to see you,” Lou’s chest deflated and then she straightened her back, while turning her face away from Debbie. </p>
<p>Debbie could feel her world folding in on itself. Her affair with Claude was smashing into their lives like a meteor, and Debbie could only stand there helplessly and watch as everything else in her life fell into the crater. Debbie’s wide and pleading eyes filled with tears of resignation as she nodded and accepted Lou’s verdict for tonight. She hoped that in the morning Lou would be able to listen to her. Debbie hoped that in the morning, the raging waters of hurt crashing over Lou’s head would be calmer and more gentle. She hoped that by morning, the waters would have receded to a tranquil tide.</p>
<p>She sadly waded up to the bed to grab her pillow and -- even though Lou was turned away from her -- she saw the tears glistening in her baby blues as she walked past. The quivering tears in Lou’s eyes reminded Debbie of the melting ice on a lake: broken and dangerous.</p>
<p>Debbie made her way into the living room and settled on the couch. She laid and stared at the ceiling for hours, listening to Lou’s gasping sobs in the other room and letting her own tears slide silently down her face until they disappeared into her hair or sunk into her pillow. She laid there for hours thinking of ways to prove to Lou that she was sorry and that she was the love of her life. Debbie had conceived and executed countless perfect crimes, but laying there on the sofa -- with her back punishing her and reminding of her age and her heart reminding her of her stupidity -- she couldn’t think of anything that was good enough to prove to Lou that she never wanted anyone other than her.</p>
<p>Debbie’s last thought before she fell asleep was:<em> I just wish I could go back and undo this whole mess. </em></p>
<hr/>
<p>When Debbie woke up in the morning, Lou was already gone. She decided to use this valuable time to start putting her plan into action, she was going to win Lou back one way or another. While Debbie went out and got the supplies she would be needing for her get-out-of-jail-free card, she took comfort in the familiar weight on her wrist, knowing that she had a padded safety mat to fall back on if her romantic pleas fell on deaf ears.</p>
<p>When Debbie returned to their apartment that afternoon, she noticed the door slightly ajar.</p>
<p>“Lou?! Are you here, Lou?” Debbie called out just like she had the night before.</p>
<p>“I’m really sorry Lou, let me prove it to you!” Debbie yelled into her hushed apartment. Suddenly, she heard some ruffling coming from their bedroom. The sight that awaited her there momentarily plunged Debbie’s sinking heart down to her feet. Watching as Lou packed her bags, Debbie felt her hand slipping off her life raft -- a carefully arranged series of steps in her plan, all tied together by her fail safe -- and she sunk under the raging waves until her head popped up again, like a buoy. She could still make this work. She would have to skip steps 1 though 6, but she could still make this work.</p>
<p>“Lou! Lou, wait!” Debbie exclaimed as she rushed into the room.</p>
<p>“What?!” Lou snapped.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Lou. Please don’t go. I love you and I’m sorry. If you just give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” Debbie promised.</p>
<p>“I barely slept, Lou. I spent the whole night kicking myself and thinking of ways to get you to forgive me -” Debbie took in a shaky breath, “- I love you and I can’t believe I’ve done something so dumb as to risk or question our love. More than that, I’m still trying to understand how I’ve been reckless enough to break your heart. I once promised I would never make you cry. I intended to keep that promise. I’m sorry, Lou. Please believe me and let me show you how sorry I am.” As she spoke, Debbie had drawn closer and closer to Lou, until she was close enough to gently take Lou’s hand in hers. She pulled Lou closer, and when her swimming brown eyes met shimmering baby blues, she smiled.</p>
<p>Lou shook her head dolefully as a single tear slipped down her cheek.</p>
<p>“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You’ve already made that mistake once,” Lou’s hand slipped from Debbie’s.</p>
<p>“Please, Lou. Please. Let me show you how much I love you,” Debbie pleaded as she grabbed Lou’s hand again.</p>
<p>Lou smiled sadly at Debbie, and then something hardened in her eyes. Debbie’s heart sank again.</p>
<p>“You already did that Debbie. You showed me exactly how much you love me by not only having a one night stand with a man, but by dating him. You trivialized both our relationship and me, because I suggested that we pursue a more legal life?! Debbie, I’ve known you for 20 years and we’ve been together for 15 years. You didn't even respect me enough to grant me the truth, as a courtesy after all these years,” Lou spat scathingly. Her stormy blue eyes crackled as she tried to twist her fingers out of Debbie’s grasp.</p>
<p>“While you spent your night thinking up plans to manipulate me into forgiving you, I spent my night drowning in the insecurities you planted in my head. I’ve loved you for more than half my life Debbie, but I’ve made my decision. I’m not doing this again with you. I am not going to live the rest of my life constantly wondering if I’m enough to make you stay. I don’t want the future you’re promising Debbie. I’m leaving,” Lou finished. When Debbie searched her face, she watched as Lou’ baby blues hardened to cool steel grey. She was definitive in her decision.</p>
<p>“Give me the ClockWork, Debbie. I’m taking it back,” Lou demanded with her outstretched hand ready for Debbie’s compliance.</p>
<p>Debbie’s eyes widened. <em> No! </em> She couldn’t give it to Lou!</p>
<p>“I know you Debbie. I know that if I don’t give you another chance, you’re just going to turn back time and stop all this from ever happening,” Lou bared Debbie’s plan. Debbie’s meticulously crafted life raft plan flipped over and dumped Debbie into the cold and jarring water of reality.</p>
<p>“I’m making a decision here, Debbie. If you love me, if you really truly love me, then you will let me make it and you will respect my choice,” Lou’s hand was still extended, waiting for Debbie to make her choice.</p>
<p>Defeatedly, Debbie’s watery chocolate eyes looked up into Lou’s crystal blues, which were strong with resolve. Shakily, Debbie unfastened the watch from her wrist and placed it into Lou’s waiting hand. Debbie watched as Lou’s eyes softened gratefully and she cherished the small smile Lou shot her, knowing that that would be that last time she made her smile.</p>
<p>Tears slipped silently down her face as she watched the love of her life turn and walk out of her life like a boat surviving a violent storm at sea and sailing away to more gratifying waters.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm actually super proud of this one. It would make my day if you let me a comment letting me know what you thought! I did write this for school and a short story competition a while ago and I am posting it now bc I am finally allowed to lol. I wrote the story with the characters in mind but had to change their names for the competition so I found and replaced everything back, let me know if I missed anything. Thanks, loves! have fun and stay safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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